Monday, December 8, 2014

Sexy Russian spy Anna Chapman tried to seduce whistleblower Edward Snowden on orders straight from the Kremlin, according to a defector.
Boris Karpichkov, a former KGB agent, claims that a plan was launched
for Chapman, 32, to keep Snowden, 31, in Moscow so that Russian agents
could continue to question him about US security secrets, according to a
new report.

Anna Chapman made her debut appearance in a Manhattan Federal Courthouse on June 28, 2010.
Image below by Elizabeth Williams

Courtroom artists in Britain have to work from memory, but in the USA they
have the advantage of being allowed to sit with their drawing materials. The
Illustrated Courtroom: Fifty years of courtroom art by Elizabeth
Williams and Sue Russell (CUNY Journalism Press) is an anthology of this
underrated genre. The camera has not yet displaced it in evoking tension:
Charles Manson restrained by a bailiff as he leaps to attack the judge,
Michael Jackson weeping as he is cleared of child abuse, Bernard Madoff led
away to the lockup in handcuffs.

Monday, December 1, 2014

An unknown poster by court artist Bill Robles came to
light with an email to Bill requesting information about a poster. The person purchased
the LAX poster from an estate sale and was curious about the image. Bill requested a photo of the poster and confirmed that the illustration was done for a 1969 annual report cover. It came as
a complete shock to Bill as he never knew the piece of artwork had been turned
into a poster.

1969 Annual report cover by Bill Robles

Bill said "Needless to say, seeing
the poster, I was blown away! Nobody at the Dept. of Airports ever
told me that it was also going to be used as a poster promoting LAX! As it
turned out, the owners of the poster have a charming book store in Covina, and
they were going to sell it along with other items from their inventory at an
upcoming Pasadena book fair.As you can imagine, I had to have it!”

"Can you imagine, the poster is 45 years old, and in mint condition, and I am so
thrilled to have it!"